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Geoinformation and Communication Technology (GeoICT) is being increasingly adopted to foster urban sustainability and smart cities. Despite the burgeoning utilization of GeoICT, the development of frameworks of components and guidelines is still at the infancy. This is due to the fact that GeoICT implementations are guided by contextual factors and there is no one size fits all approach. This paper focuses on the topic of leveraging GeoICT for smart sustainable cities by examining the Saudi Arabian experience using information from the literature, government websites, official documents, newspaper articles and personal interviews. This study reviews the definitions, typologies, and frameworks of implementing GeoICT and smart cities. It highlights case studies of smart city development in Saudi Arabia. A comparison of the Saudi case studies with frameworks and practices found in the literature is presented. This paper concludes with policy implications for Saudi Arabia and lessons for GeoICT and smart city development. It is concluded that local context has an influence on the implementation of smart cities, ICT infrastructure is necessary but not sufficient for developing smart cities and blending top-down with bottom-up approaches is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on transformation in sustainable urban governance by examining the prospect of fostering sustainable development through top-down urban governance. It takes a case study of urban development in Saudi Arabia, which had been administered through a centralized framework devoid of the environmental assessment of policies and plans. Urban planning documents made limited references to the environment. Consequently, Saudi cities have been ranked low on environmental sustainability. However, recently, due to the political imperative of addressing the problems, low oil prices, and the Arab Spring, there has been a remarkable transformation in urban governance. The planning of some of the major cities has been decentralized and some policies implemented to curb unsustainable development. This article reviews these changes to investigate how top-down approaches might still be relevant in promoting sustainable development. It concludes that there is a need to implement a framework of legislation and administrative procedures integrated with strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to ensure proper sustainable institutionalised urban governance. The findings could serve as lessons for those operating under similar political contexts especially in developing countries. • Examines the prospect of fostering sustainable development through top-down urban governance • Examines urban governance in Saudi Arabia as a case study • Highlights the transformation in sustainable urban governance in Saudi Arabia • Top-down approach is relevant in promoting sustainable urban governance in some contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]